An optically pumped radiation-emitting semiconductor device is known, for example, from published U.S. patent application no. 2003/0001328, the content of which is incorporated by reference in the present description. The above document describes an optically pumped surface-emitting semiconductor laser device having a radiation-generating quantum well structure and a pump radiation source, for example a pump laser, for optically pumping the quantum well structure. The quantum well structure and the pump radiation source are grown epitaxially on a common substrate.
In a method for fabricating a semiconductor laser device of this type, first of all the quantum well structure is grown on a substrate in a first epitaxy step. Then, the quantum well structure is partially removed, for example by etching, and in a second epitaxy step the pump radiation source is grown onto the regions which have been uncovered in this way.
In this case, what is known as a grow-in region, the crystal structure of which has a relatively large number of crystal defects, may be formed during the second epitaxy step in the boundary region between the pump radiation source and the quantum well structure. Therefore, when the pump radiation is introduced into the quantum well structure, optical losses may occur in this grow-in region, reducing the efficiency of the semiconductor laser device.